Finding You Again
by LadySerenade
Summary: "They were all trying to deal with it in their own way, but none of it seemed right. Jace was in mourning, Izzy and Clary in denial, and Magnus was just lost. He just wasn't sure how much longer any of them could keep doing this. There were no answers, not even death. It was like Alec had just vanished." [The sequel to Loving You Again.]
1. Introduction

**Disclaimer: I own nothing about the amazing world of Shadowhunters, that's all Cassandra Clare, I just write fanfiction. **

**Author's Note: Well it's about time I got to part two of this story! Part one is called Loving You Again, and you can find that on my page. You should probably read that first or be confused by my OC's and villains. To do a short hand catch up, this story is an AU, set a bit in the future, with Alec being 27 and the rest of the characters aged up accordingly. Jace and Clary are married with two daughters, Violet and Lily. Isabelle is the Head of the New York institute, and Simon is leader of the Manhattan Clan of vampires. This is a fluffy universe where all the characters have survived the last book and stuff. That being said this story will include bad language, violence, and smut. The first story was focused mainly on Magnus and Alec, and while they will continue to be my focus, Izzy takes more of a leading role in this one too. I hope youenjoy the intro and more to come very soon! **

* * *

**Intro**

"This is impossible, I can't see anything. We should head back," Izzy said to her parabatai as they sloshed their way through the thick falling rain. When she turned back to check on Clary she noticed that she could barely make out her face. It seemed they weren't making much progress like this. Honestly she hadn't wanted to take Clary with her in the first place, it still seemed too soon after Lily for her to be out on a hunt.

"We can't go back! He's the last person in the city we've talked to, he could know something," Clary tried to shout over the rain.

"If I never see him again it will be too soon!" Izzy fumed. Whatever brief good will she had towards Julian had vanished over the last month. Now even the mention of his name made goosebumps on her arms. She wouldn't say she was afraid of him really, but she did feel like prey in his sights, and that there was an unspoken rivalry between them. She kept remembering back to when he had first came into the city, to help them find Adelaide, and how she studiously ignored Magnus's warnings that he was bad news.

"This could be our last chance Iz, you can't tell me you don't wanna take it!" Clary told her.

"And what if something goes wrong? You're in no condition to fight," Isabelle tried to fight back.

"If Victoria's Secret models can hit the runway a month after having a baby than I can certainly watch your back two months after," Clary argued back.

"When was the last time you seen one of them girls fight off a demon? This is different," Izzy replied. Clary grabbed her by the back of the jacket and whirled her around so they were facing each other.

"I know you're worried Iz, but you can't protect everyone. Jace said I was good to go, Constantine said the same. Can't you just have a little faith in me?" Clary asked. They were both soaked to the bone, hair sopping in their faces.

"I'm sorry, you're right, I trust you," Isabelle said and squeezed Clary's hand. She had been a wreck since Alec went missing, not wanting to accept the fact that he was probably dead. None of them did, even though there was proof that he could be dead, and no proof so far that he could still be alive. Life had been so hollow these past two months, it was almost impossible to not be on edge and to not worry too much about the ones you loved. Dead end after dead end forced them all into a mock mourning, since the truth was still unknown. Suddenly Clary cocked her head to the side.

"Do you hear that?" She asked Isabelle, who had to strain to hear a slight beating sound. She followed Clary around the back of a rundown auto garage, listening over the weather for the sound to get stronger. They stopped short when they saw a group of young men crowd together in a semi-circle.

"Drug deal?" Clary whispered as they stayed out of sight and kept eyes on the men.

"Not human drugs," Isabelle whispered, recognizing one of them as a vampire. They watched hoping to get a better view of what they were doing, but they were so still, it seemed as if they were some sick version of a prayer circle. Izzy motioned for Clary to follow her closer for a better look, but no matter what angle they got, the rain made it impossible to tell if there was an actual exchange going on or not.

"Izzy we're here," Clary said, having opened a small window on the ground with a rune, showing that they were on top of the rave they were looking for. "How are we ever going to find him down there?"

"The real problem is getting in," Isabelle said nervously, casting a glance to the assembled circle, which she now assumed was protecting the door.

"Iz, I'll just portal us in, pick a good spot," Clary said, ignoring the men in the circle.

"Fine, just do it here, and do it fast," Isabelle said, standing up and guarding Clary as she drew her runes into the ground with her steele. The smaller woman tugged on her parabatai's boot twice when the portal was complete, and took pointe, dropping in first. She climbed down deftly from the rafters and when Izzy was through the portal was closed. When they set their feet on the ground no one was the wiser.

"Stay together," Isabelle warned as they made their way through the writhing bodies. Many turned and glared at them as they passed by, but the music was so loud and the room so dark, nobody truly stopped them. Whispers of Shadowhunter rippled through the crowd, but went mostly unheeded as the two women picked their way through, eyes open for one vampire in particular.

When they hit the back wall they were no closer to their goal. Izzy was practically glowing with anger and Clary was starting to lose her patience as well, which most likely meant she was about to do something reckless.

"Stealth isn't gonna work Iz," Clary told her. She grabbed the wrist of the first vampire that was foolish enough too walk to close to them, and pulled him hard, slamming him into the wall. Isabelle instinctively shifted her position to block the shake down.

"Where is Julian Lizare?" Clary asked, holding the man's arm twisted behind his back.

"Filthy Nephilim," The vampire spat. "You've come to the wrong party."

"Where is he?" Clary shouted over the music, sending her knee hard into the man's lower back.

"I know who you are!" The vampire hissed. "I know who your children are!"

The words made no difference to Clary, she took the man by the hair and slammed his face into the wall, a flash of silver coming to her hand. She pressed it ever so gently into the back of the creature's neck, smiling all the while.

"If you know who I am then you know who we are looking for," Clary said. "Don't make me hurt you. Just answer the question."

"You ain't looking for Julian, you're looking for Alec Lightwood," The man said laughing. That was when Isabelle finally turned towards them, her whip appearing gracefully at her side, eyes wide with hate. She grabbed the vampire from Clary, by his throat, and pushed him into the wall again. Then she took her boot and replaced the hand at his throat with it, a spike coming out of her long pointed stiletto heel.

"What do you know?" She shouted viciously. People were starting to turn and look, the shadows weren't hiding them well after all. Clary had hands on weapons, ready for the fight that seemed to be bubbling to the surface. They weren't safe here, and most of their shakedowns turned violent these days.

"I only know what I hear," The vampire said, still grinning.

"What have you heard?! I'm done being nice," Izzy said and pressed the tip of her spiked heel into his throat enough to pierce the skin, making him howl out in pain.

"I heard your queer brother is missing, and his boyfriend is tearing up the underworld to look for him. I heard Simon offered a hefty reward for him, and I know the Nephilim are falling apart," The man said. Clary flashed him a look when he said it, there was something in his eyes that spoke of an attack. "Julian isn't here either, or so I've heard."

Clary grabbed Isabelle and shoved her to the side as two more men launched themselves at the girls from within the crowd. Angry eyes and teeth flashed their way and Clary knew it was time to get the hell out of there. Izzy had the same mind set and jumped to her feet, her whip sailing out behind her and slashing the vampire they had been talking to cruelly across the face. Clary was already up ahead, climbing a lose iron scaffold to get back to the rafters. Isabelle wasn't far behind, shoving and kicking her way through the hungry crowd, avoiding staying in one place too long so she wouldn't get grabbed.

Izzy reached the scaffolding and climbed it recklessly, kicking out piping behind her as she went. By the time she reached her parabatai, Clary was already half way through drawing the portal to get them out.

"They aren't chasing us?" Clary said as she finished up the portal.

"They took the real entrance, they'll try and cut us off in the alley," Izzy told her.

"What's the game plan then?" Clary asked as she poised herself to pull herself into the portal.

"Split up and run like hell, get to a public place and they won't touch you."

"Meet me at the Main Perk," Clary said and was gone.

* * *

"Magnus?" Came a soft voice from the hall. It was well past two, but anyone in the building knew he couldn't sleep. That he hadn't been sleeping for a while now. The warlock rose from his seat and went out into the hall, Clary was standing in the doorway of the apartment looking like a little drown kitten. She had a bit of blood on the side of her face but seemed unharmed.

"Did you find Julian?" Magnus asked, knowing already that she probably hadn't.

"Another dead end," Clary said sullenly. "The girls and Jace are sleeping, can I come in?"

Magnus still lived in Alec's apartment. He couldn't bring himself to leave it. It was the only place that offered him small comforts. Clary's children were one of them. Violet still called him Uncle Kitty, and Lily was probably the happiest and most angelic baby he had ever seen. It made him feel like he still had a family, a family that two months ago was whole and happy.

"Alcohol's on top of the fridge," Magnus said, going to the living room and sinking into a chair. This was a ritual every time Clary got back from a hunt. She hated being home he knew, with Jace in a constant fog of depression or anger. They were all trying to deal with it in their own way, but none of it seemed right. Jace was in mourning, Izzy and Clary in denial, and Magnus was just lost.

Clary came and sat on the couch, setting a bottle of vodka on the coffee table. They drank in silence for a while, until it became unbearable. Then she told him about what happened tonight, and how much danger she and Isabelle put themselves in. It wasn't like he could tell them not to, Alec was just as much their family as he was his. He just wasn't sure how much longer any of them could keep doing this. There were no answers, not even death. It was like Alec had just vanished.

"Gwen's been coming over a lot lately, I think it helps Jace sometimes," Clary said to him.

"Why would it help him? We found Callista's body, Gwen knows what happened to her parabatai," Magnus said sullenly.

"You know what Jace thinks, how he feels," Clary said with a hint of angry warning in her voice.

"He thinks Alec is dead," Magnus told her.

"What do you think Magnus? How long can we keep doing this?" Clary said, tears coming to her eyes. "Izzy is going crazy, I can't even sleep anymore. I just want it all to end."

"You want to give up the search?" Magnus asked carefully.

"Of course not, I just want the right answers, to talk to the right people," Clary said and wiped at her eyes before drinking a bit more. "It's like everyone knows just a tiny bit more, but no one knows the whole truth. You should have seen those vamps tonight Magnus, they knew something more, something we couldn't make them tell us."

Just then her phone went off, making her nearly jump out of her skin. Maia's name flashed across the screen and Clary lurched for it, answering on the second ring and putting it on speaker phone.

"Maia, everything okay?" Clary asked.

"Someone just got back from his extended stay in Paris," Maia said, panting and full of malice.

"What do you mean?" Clary asked, her hands starting to shake.

"I mean Julian Lizare is back in the Big Apple," Maia told her. "We only have a few hours of dark left, rally the troops, I'll keep tabs on him. Let's hit him before the sunrise, he'll feel nice and chatty then."

* * *

**This is only the short intro, giving a feeling to the story. I promise the chapters are much longer! Leave me a review and let me know what you think! XoXo LadySerenade**


	2. Shattered

**Disclaimer in the intro. **

**Author's Note: Please please please read to the end of the chapter! I don't want to spoil anything but when you see some certain news and might want to rage quit my fic, just let me tell you to read the whole chapter and the anger will shift. I love you! Please review and let me know what you think! I like to be an interactive writer and I get life force from reviews. Help me live to be 300. **

* * *

**Chapter One: Shattered**

They took no chances with him, coming out in force to make sure this wasn't some kind of trap or trick. Maia was there of course, and Kyle. Magnus and Clary came as well, with Isabelle, Gwen, and Molly not far behind. Julian for his part, was strapped down to a chair and looking like he would gladly kill all of them just given the opportunity. He still looked the same as last time any of them had seen him. Narrow pretty face, wicked smile, and thick black hair pulled back in a knot. His clothes were layered and frayed looking, and he of course was dirty. He always looked dirty.

"Is this how the Clave treats visitors now?" He asked, eyes going straight to Isabelle. Her face was stone, and she walked immediately up to him and kicked his chair over with enough force to crack the back of it when it hit the ground. Maia and Kyle hauled him back to a sitting position.

"Why did you skip town Julian?" Isabelle asked. He laughed at first and she turned around and punched him in the jaw. "Tell me why you went to Paris."

"My clan is in Paris, in case you forgot," He said, his vague Yorkshire accent tinting his words.

They had brought Julian to Magnus's loft, which was no longer really in living condition. Sometimes training went on here, sometimes risky experiments, a few parties and such, but since Alec had been missing, it was the rally and investigation point for all involved. There were pictures and runes on the walls, a network of people that were suspected or already questioned. In the middle of it all Julian's name stood, one of the only people they hadn't had a chance to question yet.

"My brother goes missing the same day you left for Paris, and I am what? Supposed to take that for a coincidence?" Isabelle asked. She then turned to Magnus and told him to open the windows. "Sunrise is in about an hour, so you have till then to decide if you're going to tell me the truth or not."

"No need to be as serious as all that love," He said, but it was clear to all of them that a bit of fear was on him now. They knew he had no desire to be fried.

"I have it under good authority you made no contact with your clan in Paris," Magnus said. He looked so horrible and tired, skinnier than any of them had ever seen him. He was dressed so plainly, in one of Alec's old crew neck shirts and a pair of dark washed jeans. It was like when Alec left all the color drained out of Magnus's life.

"I didn't know you were keeping tabs on me darling. That's terrible sweet of you," Julian said grinning. It was Clary that hit him this time, solidly across the face.

"You know where he is," She accused him. "I can see it in your eyes."

"I have no idea where he is, and that's the truth. This is a big waste of your time," Julian growled at her.

"Maybe it is, but you'll fry either way and I'll enjoy watching that," Isabelle answered him.

"You can't just kill me, you're an important Clave member," Julian said to her, though he didn't look so positive that she wouldn't kill him.

"No one would even know, and I'm more than sure no one would miss you," She told him sweetly. There was a silver flash in her hand and she raked her hand across his face again, leaving three shallow gashes that were smoking, making him cringe in his seat.

"I said I don't know where he is!" Julian shouted at her, and was met with another searing swipe from Isabelle. He thrashed in his chair for a moment. "You're just going to torture and kill me then?"

"I'm angry," Isabelle told him dangerously, taking a blessed dagger from her boot and burying it in his thigh. It smoked viciously, and he cried out in pain. No one made a move to stop her though, no one was in the mood to tell her it was too much.

"Stop!" He shrieked at her, panting in his pain, the strain of his wounds clear across his face. "I told you I don't know anything Isabelle please!"

She kicked him backwards again, waiting for Kyle and Maia to pick him up once more before taking another slash at him. Clary turned away from them, not wanting to see the gore, but needing to be there all the same. Magnus watched it all, cold and calculating, not feeling any sort of emotion towards Julian's torture.

"You're going to kill me," He said slumping forwards and laughing, like he just realized it to be a true fact. He tried to catch Isabelle's eye, to plead with her somehow, but she wouldn't meet his gaze.

"You have to understand, we've done everything. We used our favor with the Seelie Queen, we've been doing shakedowns and interrogations, everything! You're the only one left, the only one close enough to have known what happened to Alec. You're the end of the line, and if you don't tell me where he is I will still kill you, because I don't doubt for a second you had everything to do with it," Izzy told him, her voice quaking in anger. "Do you understand that?"

"Isabelle I swear, I don't know what happened to your brother," Julian huffed out, getting weaker. He would need to feed to help heal himself, and there was no chance that was going to happen. "I'll help you.." He went to say, but didn't get to finish the sentence as he was struck again.

"I don't believe you," Isabelle said laughing. "You know." She took the dagger and pressed it close to his throat, looking completely willing to do the deed.

"Don't make me tell you Iz," He said, meeting her eye. She pressed the dagger closer, her hands shaking violently. Julian never left her gaze, didn't think to back down again. "You're right I know what happened to him Isabelle, but I didn't want to be the one who told you."

"Tell me!" She shouted in his face, pressing the dagger until his throat started to hiss.

"He's dead!" He strained over the pain.

Isabelle stepped back from him then, her already pale face going even whiter as she dropped the dagger to the floor. She shook her head back and forth violently till she stumbled into Magnus's arms and sank to the floor. She let out a horrible sounding sob, clutching to the warlock with all the little strength she had left. Clary needed to be her strength just then and gathered up the dagger, going back over to Julian.

"How do you know that?" Clary asked, struggling to keep her own voice strong.

"One of Adelaide's old contacts sought revenge, came and took Alec in the night. He was brought to Paris, the downworlders are different there, more rebellious. He didn't even stand a chance. I tried to follow, to protect him for Isabelle," Julian said, and he looked and sounded sincere. But he was immortal and a known deceit, it would be easy for him to sell a convincing lie.

"Prove it," Clary insisted.

"Open up my coat and take of the gold chain around my throat, it's all the proof you'll need," He told her. "I planned on giving them back to Isabelle someday, just not in this fashion." Maia was the one that complied, her face a mask of rage and hate. She handed the chain over to Clary, who saw that two rings were on it. One of them a band of flames, and the other the engagement ring Magnus had given him.

"Why didn't you tell us?" Clary asked, eyes clouding over and voice going thick.

"I didn't know how," Julian answered in defeat. "I'm not exactly a friend of the family, and I figured his parabatai would have known."

"Jace has been mourning for a month," Clary let him know. "It was us that couldn't grasp it."

"His body?" Isabelle managed to ask through her tears. This was the second brother she lost, and it hit her even harder. She felt like nothing would ever be right again.

"It got torn to shreds Iz, I'm so sorry."

"How did you make it out? How did you get his rings?" Magnus asked, his voice sounding far away and hollow.

"Lift up my shirt," Julian asked of Maia, who snarled in return. Kyle complied this time, revealing a nasty scar down Julian's side. "I nearly died trying to save him."

Isabelle allowed herself a few more moments of weakness before using Magnus as a crutch to stand. She tried to pull herself together but knew she wouldn't manage for long. She eventually told Kyle and Maia to cut Julian lose and throw him out in the street, which they did gladly. When they were all alone again Isabelle managed to tell them that they would have a service for Alec as soon as possible, and for someone to keep tabs on Julian while he was still in the city. She took the rings from Clary after that, breaking the chain and handing back Magnus's engagement ring to him, pocketing the Lightwood ring for herself. After that Gwen and Molly took her back to the Institute.

* * *

_2 years later…_

"Momma!" Violet shrieked from the hallway. "Momma Uncle Kitty is here!"

Clary looked up from her book and out the large bay windows to where Magnus was strutting up the stone pathway to the little house. It had been a long time since she saw the warlock, a long time since her family had any sort of visitors besides her neighbors, who were a constant fixture here. Magnus wore a long black coat to help fight off the chill in the air, and a bright purple scarf was tied about his neck. She saw Violet run out to meet him, still in her pajamas.

"I'll go get a pot of tea," Tessa said and rose to leave the room as Clary set aside her book and went to meet Magnus at the door. His green cat eyes lit up when he saw her, and she smiled and ran to him to, hugging him tightly.

"It's been a long time stranger," Clary teased him, leading him into the house. Violet had already attached herself to his back.

"Well if you didn't move to another country the trip would be easier on me," Magnus said laughing, following Clary into the drawing room. "Where is Jace?"

"He and Jem went to the London Institute this weekend," Clary told him, helping untangle Violet from his back. She was shooting up like a weed, and had none of her mother's short genes in her.

"How's he holding up?" Magnus asked, taking a seat and removing his coat.

"He's easing back into it," Clary explained, taking a seat as well. "I think it's harder for him then he lets on, but Jem and Tessa have been a big help."

"Why thank you I try," Tessa said entering the room, setting the tea tray down on a table and going to embrace Magnus brightly. "It's good to see you again."

"Pretty as the day I met you," Magnus said smiling.

"What about me?" Violet asked giggling.

"Prettiest girl in the world," Magnus said winking.

"Violet why don't you go play with Lily in the nursery?" Clary asked, shooing her daughter out of the room so the adults could speak in private. She didn't look like she wanted to go but she obeyed anyways, leaving the three of them alone.

"How are things in New York?" Clary asked finally.

"Good, Isabelle has the Institute running like a militia, Constantine and I have been doing good Clave work, everything's in perfect order," Magnus said. It was what he always said when he saw her. It wasn't much detail, but then again it never was.

"So what do we thank for the visit?" Tessa asked, setting out everyone's cups for them.

"Just as a warning I guess," Magnus said laughing and rubbing at a temple.

"What do you mean?" Clary wanted to know.

"Isabelle is coming to England," Magnus told her more seriously. "She told me, and this is a direct quote, that 'Jace and Clary have spent enough time away from reality, they can't keep my family away from me forever.' She didn't seem very pleased with you as of late."

"She heard about my pregnancy then," Clary guessed.

"You're already showing, there's no way you would have been able to hide it from her regardless," Magnus told her. "We all miss you."

"I know," Clary said sadly. "You know how hard things were on Jace. He just snapped when it was all said and done."

Magnus didn't have to ask what it was, he knew, and he knew she was thinking about it too now. Alec's death had torn the whole family apart. Isabelle didn't leave her room for a straight month, Magnus sunk into a sort of madness that he still had trouble keeping at bay, and Jace took his family and moved them to England. There was an entire year where none of them spoke to each other, everyone in too much pain to do much of anything. But time kept going on, as it always does, and they had to pull themselves together. So Magnus and Isabelle threw themselves into their work, and Jace and Clary got pregnant again while getting close to Jem and Tessa, who had known more about Jace's roots than he did.

"Your parabatai needs you Clary, you know this isn't fair on us," Magnus told her evenly. She got to her feet, losing her temper was something she did a lot these days, kind of like old times.

"Don't you think I know that? We can't go home okay? You didn't see him the night before the service, I've never been so afraid of him in my life! Violet still has nightmares about it, by the Angel he almost burnt our building down, and you want me to drag him back there?" Clary asked angrily, her voice rising.

"He's not the only one who hurt Clarissa," Magnus reminded her. "So now you're just going to let him hide from it all? What of your daughters? What of your unborn child? Are they going to be raised thinking they are normal, thinking their parents aren't shadowhunters? Do you want me to hide those memories from them like your mother made me do to you?"

Clary slapped him, she couldn't help it. She felt sorry after, but he had stepped too far. It was too true not to hurt. Jace had told her a hundred times he didn't want the girls to grow up in the life he grew up in, in the life that took Alec and Max. That killed fathers he thought were his, that shook his entire world to the core. Clary hadn't disagreed entirely, but neither could she fully support it. She couldn't pretend they didn't have the blood of the Angel, that they weren't destined for greatness.

"We can't come home," Clary said quietly, turning her back on her old friend.

"Isabelle needs you Clary," Magnus told her. "You'll see when she gets here that she's not the same. She is all hunter now, harsh and dangerous. The beings she consorts with are dangerous too. She's on a path to destruction, she has nothing to hold onto, nothing to remind her what's good in her life. If you and the girls were there maybe she would see reason."

"What kind of dangerous people?" Clary asked over her shoulder.

"I hear whispers that she's in bed with Julian Lizare," Magnus said, saying his name like a curse. "I mean that literally."

"Him?" Tessa asked distastefully. "I hate that rat."

"He tried to save Alec," Clary said reasonably.

"So he says," Magnus muttered. It wasn't like he didn't check, but his story turned out to be true, according to his connections in Paris.

"Well if she wants to be with him who am I to stop her?" Clary asked.

"I don't believe you mean that," Magnus told her. "I don't think you mean that at all."

"What else am I supposed to say? How am I ever going to convince Jace to go back to New York? I don't know how to deal with all this Magnus, and I can't hold everyone together like I used to. We're all too broken," Clary said, a few tears spilling down her cheeks. Tessa went to her, hugging her about the shoulders. They had become very close the time they had spent as neighbors.

"I'll talk to Jem, he has a way with words. I'm sure he can talk to Jace about all this," Tessa told her softly.

"You better call them and tell them to get back here tonight," Magnus warned her. "Isabelle will be here in the morning."

* * *

Isabelle and Clary went for a walk under the noonday sun, hoping to get some warmth in their bones against the chill wind. They walked hand in hand, smiling and happy to see each other. Though they both had much on their minds that was waiting to be said. Magnus had been right, Izzy was different. She was thinner, and meaner looking. Almost the vision of her mother these days. She was also distant, and more guarded. Clary was scared for her.

"I'm glad you came," Clary said to break the silence.

"I'd never see you if I didn't," Isabelle said, her voice had a bitter edge to it.

"I know," Clary admitted. "I'm sorry we haven't been home to visit."

"I knew you wouldn't anyways, as soon as you left I felt like it was goodbye," Isabelle told her. "No one even had to die for me to lose my parabatai."

"That's not fair Iz, you know I'm always there for you," Clary tried to tell her, feeling the conversation spinning out of her control.

"Where have you been? Because last I remember I've been alone for two years," Isabelle snapped.

"You had the Institute, Molly, Gwen, Magnus, they were there for you," Clary tried to tell her.

"Like I give a shit about any of them!" Isabelle shouted. "They're not my family."

"Magnus is family," Clary reminded her sternly, and Isabelle had the grace to look properly chastised at that. "We love you Iz, I never meant for things to get so bad. You know what happened with Jace, he hasn't been the same since."

"None of us have," Isabelle said distantly.

"You're right," Clary told her. They walked along in silence a bit more before Clary told her the news. "We are coming home Izzy. I had Tessa tell Jem to convince Jace."

Isabelle stopped dead in her tracks, her face breaking into a smile that reminded Clary of days long gone. Days when they were all truly happy. "You are? You promise?"

"Jace didn't like it at first but," Clary paused for a moment. She was going to say he made up his mind when he saw Izzy, but decided it wasn't best to let her know the change in her was obvious. "But then he changed his mind."

"The girls?" Isabelle asked hopefully.

"Well Violet is in school, so it will take us a bit to get everything organized. We are going to have to pack up the house and say goodbye to Jem and Tess, but by the end of the month we'll all be home. I promise."

Isabelle crushed Clary in a hug, tears coming freely. "Thank you."

* * *

_Paris_

He couldn't stop staring at her all night, she was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. He couldn't deny being drawn to her more than he had been to anyone ever. It was almost like a gravitational pull. Her smile was full of charm and lust, her body spoke of perfection, her eyes were hypnotic. She had to be wearing some kind of wig, her hair long to the floor and the color of amethyst. Her skin was so pale, looked so soft and flawless. He needed her, and before he knew what he was truly doing, he was across the crowded room, standing before her like a lost puppy.

"Hi," He said stupidly.

"Hello darling," She purred, her voice sweet as honey.

"Do you dance," He asked, jerking his head over his shoulder to the writhing bodies on the small wooden floor, lights playing above them. She gave a soft laugh and rolled her eyes.

"No."

"Can I get you a drink?"

"No," She answered him. She rose from her seat with a sigh and made her way to the backdoor. When she realized he wasn't following her she turned and looked at him over a shoulder, motioning with a finger for him to come to her. He nearly ran.

The back door to the club led to a small dirt lined alley, trash and filth everywhere. It smelt horrible, and she seemed so terribly out of place there. When he came out behind her she slammed the door to the club and pushed him into the wall. He couldn't help but think he was getting sucked into something as she started kissing his neck.

"Slow down honey," He told her, while trying to control his lust. "How much?"

She laughed deliciously. "Oh darling boy, you couldn't even buy me with your life. But that's what you will pay."

He heard the sound of footsteps in the alley and turned to see a manly figure making his way over. He tried to push the woman away from him, but found she was as immovable as stone, her skin cold to the touch. Suddenly she didn't seem so beautiful to him, she looked like a predator. Her eyes were hungry, and he could now see large fangs poking out of her mouth. The man was getting closer to them and he felt like a trapped mouse.

When the man came under the lamplight he could make out his features. Pale like her, perhaps even more so. He had black hair that was windblown and down to his shoulders, with eyes that were shockingly blue. He had scars on the visible parts of his skin, and he too had large fangs in his mouth. He approached the woman with the purple hair and caressed her neck for a moment.

"He's beautiful," The man whispered to her.

"I knew you would like him," She replied. "Let's take him home."

"Why take him home? Let me sake my hunger and my lust right here," He said, leaning in close and sniffing the man's neck.

"We must practice caution," She said curtly. "Remember the rules."

"Fine," The man said, exacting a pout. "Knock him out and be done with it. We're dangerously close to lycan territory."

"Hunting is just so easy on this side of the city," The woman said laughing, the laughter seemed to ring like bells all around him. "Goodnight sweetheart," She told him, and everything went black.

* * *

**I did a mean thing. XoXo LadySerenade**


	3. The Broken Pieces

**Disclaimer in the intro. **

**Author's Note: I was really grumpy when I wrote this chapter so I know I did a few things heartlessly, and these first few chapters are majorly painful but it's all part of the vision darlings, which will be wonderful! I just wanted to say thank you as well to everyone who supported this story and it's predecessor, I love you all!**

**[trigger warning: abuse]**

* * *

**Chapter Two: The Broken Pieces **

Isabelle stood and lit her cigarette, going to the window and throwing it open wide to the cool night breeze. She felt relaxed of body, but her mind was everywhere. Clary and Jace would be home tomorrow, and she still hadn't told Julian. Still hadn't made up her mind on the dangerous choices she had been going over and over again in her mind. She felt like she didn't owe anyone any explanations. She didn't really open up to people anymore anyways, didn't trust a soul with her secrets. She knew her façade was cracking though, and she knew people were starting to guess that something was wrong with her. She didn't care, let them guess and guess again, nobody but her knew the truth.

She felt icy hands on her shoulders, making her shiver agreeably. "I should be going soon," She told him, not bothering to even look at him.

"Why would you do that?" Julian asked teasingly. "We still have four more hours of night."

"I have a big day at the Institute tomorrow," She said off handedly.

"Let Gwen handle it, she could use the practice right?" He asked her, dipping his head down and licking her neck. Isabelle shuddered at the touch.

"I have to be there," She insisted, trying to ignore the way his hands roamed her body freely. He was a good distraction, had been for the better part of two years. He helped her forget.

"Why won't you tell me what's going on?" He asked, pulling away from her. Isabelle flicked her cigarette ash and ignored him. "C'mon Iz, you have to let me in sometime."

"No I don't," She told him sternly.

"I thought you loved me," He said, flashing her a brilliant smile that was all fangs and lust, predator and seducer. She didn't love him though, she couldn't really. He was just her drug of choice.

"Don't be an idiot," She said, chastising him. "If you must know, Clary comes home tomorrow."

"Why?" He asked, pulling a face. "Why would they come back here?"

"Because I need them here," She told him angrily.

"What will it matter in the end? It's only going to cause them more pain. I thought you were trying to distance yourself from everyone so the transition would be easier," He reminded her. That had been the original plan, but Izzy wasn't so sure anymore. She thought day in and day out about what she would be giving up, what she would be leaving behind. Some days she did want to leave it all, others she wanted to cling to it.

"I think Jace should be the one that replaces me," She told him, a small sliver of truth. "Gwen isn't prepared for it, and she can barely make her way around the city. The new Head should be someone who spent the better part of their life here, who spent their childhood in the Institute halls."

"I thought Jace was a looney now," Julian said bluntly. "That won't go over well."

"Then it should be Clary if he can't do it," She snapped back, sick of having this conversation already.

"Fair enough," He replied, sensing he was pushing her too much. "You still want to go through with this right? You were the one who asked Isabelle."

"I know I did, but I still need time," She said to him, throwing her cigarette out the window and going to find her clothes. He followed after her like a shadow.

"Time for what? I've given you nothing but time, and you always come with some new excuse to postpone it. I'm sick of waiting for you. If you truly want to die and be reborn, if you want to spend all your nights with me and leave this all behind, like _you_ begged me to that night, than I need to know now," He told her, his voice menacing.

"Well I can't answer you now," She shot back, zipping up her boots and grabbing for her jacket. "I told you I need more time."

"You can't string me along forever," He warned her. "By the end of the week I'm gone, and you're either with me, or you're here living your depressive existence."

"You can leave if you want," She said sweetly. "Do you think you're the only vampire I know in this city? The only lover I can go to?"

He flew at her, grabbing her by the neck and pinning her to the wall. She knew it would make him angry even to hint at what she was, but she couldn't help pushing all Julian's buttons. It was so easy after all. His fangs split his bottom lip, and he had his stone cold body pinning her where she stood. Somehow things were always like this with him, but it was what kept her here in the present. It was the only outflow for her aggression, her passion. It was delicious to her, even though she knew it was always dangerous.

"Don't even say it," He growled at her. "You're not going to him."

"Why should I be with you anyways, when I can be with _Simon_," She said, sighing his name between her lips, making Julian tremble in rage. "He's a clan leader after all, and what do you have but dust and memories?"

He pulled her forwards and slammed her into the wall with enough force to make her breathless. His fingers were wrapping too tightly around her throat, he could crush her so easily. She couldn't say she would really try and stop him if he tried.

"I could force it on you Izzy," He hissed at her.

"You won't," She gasped out, and just like that he let her go and sprang away from her. She rubbed her throat for a second before turning to the door and throwing it open.

"Tell Clary I said hello," He told her as she was slamming the door behind her.

* * *

"Magnus are you listening to me?" He heard Clara ask. He hadn't been listening in fact, but knew she had been talking for the better part of twenty minutes. His mind was a hundred years away at this point, but he called himself back to the present and smiled at her, nodding.

"I heard you, I'm just distracted," He told her tiredly.

"It's okay," She said deflated. "A guy can fuck you on your balcony but won't even listen to how your day was. Typical."

"Clara," He said, reaching for her, but she pulled away and went to put on her robe. She was a young werewolf with olive skin and beautiful yellow green eyes. He had only met her a few months ago, but she was only one of Magnus's lovers these days. He typically buried his memories and sorrow in strangers and into his work. If he wasn't constantly doing something he was afraid he would start losing his touch with reality, start slipping into the madness Alec's death had brought on. He tried everything he could to forget, but he had a sharp and vivid memory of it above all else.

"It's okay Magnus, I don't expect much from you. Just look pretty and make sure you leave by morning and I'm satisfied," She told him grinning.

"You going out on patrol tonight?" He asked her, sitting up on the bed with his eyes searching for his clothes. She handed him his pants, knowing that he was getting ready to leave.

"Yeah, your friend Constantine asked me to sniff out a smuggling ring that's been giving the Institute trouble. Some warlock mixing demon powders and mundane drugs and making a tidy profit from it," She said, getting dressed herself.

"Sounds unsavory," He said.

"Yeah well someone's gotta clean up these streets," She told him grinning. "I have to go, lock up when you leave?"

"I will," He said to her and watched her make her way out of the room. "Hey Clara," He called after her. She poked her head back into the room for a moment.

"Yeah?"

"Thanks for not asking questions," He said to her with a smirk.

"It's not my place," She said with a knowing smile. "Take care of yourself Magnus."

He left not long after that, not wanting to linger in Clara's apartment. He kept things impersonal with everyone he fooled around with, he just wasn't capable of putting too much into anything. His thoughts were pretty dark as he made his way back to the Institute, walking through the streets at night sometimes cleared his mind. He had been living at the Institute for about six months now, under Constantine's supervision and care. It was Constantine in fact who had helped him keep a cap on his crazy after what happened two years ago. Magnus couldn't thank him enough for all the things he did for him over that time, and it more than made up for all that nasty business with Adelaide a while back. When he finally got home he noticed he wasn't the only one sneaking in late at night.

"Hey Isabelle," He said casually as he trailed her up the stairs. She whipped around quickly, whip at the ready in the blink of an eye. When she saw it was just Magnus though, she relaxed, and then looked guilty. This wasn't the first time something like this has happened.

"You startled me," was all she said.

"Just getting home?" He asked sarcastically while following her into the Institute.

"I had a hunt," She said, which he instantly knew for a lie.

"Oh yeah me too," He told her.

"I see," She said, not baiting into him. They rode the elevator up in silence, but when the doors opened neither of them expected to see Constantine standing there, Church sitting by his feet. He looked everything like a scolding father waiting to discipline his errant children.

"I need to talk to the two of you," He said to them. "Immediately."

He turned from them and made his way to the library. Magnus and Isabelle shared an unsure glance but trailed behind him all the same. Constantine was an ancient warlock who was smarter than the two of them by far, and exceptionally more powerful. He earned their respect over time, and was now a constant fixture at the Institute, completely welcomed by the Clave. He was technically supposed to work the Infirmary as a healer, but became more of Isabelle's advisor instead, a wealth of valuable knowledge. When they entered the library he whirled on them angrily.

"I've been trying to reach you all night Isabelle," He shot at her.

"I was busy," She said back, eyes hard.

"I can see that, like to get choked do we?" He asked her, gesturing to her throat. There was undoubtedly a bruised ring around it, finger prints obvious.

"That's none of your business," She warned him.

"You're correct, by all means ride that dirty mule from dusk till dawn if it pleases you. But don't forget you are the leader of this Institution and that should come before all else," He said to her, never raising his voice but his anger clear in his tone.

"I don't need a lecture from you," She said back.

"Someone needs to make you see reason Isabelle, what you're doing is dangerous."

"Why don't you chastise him," She said, her voice elevating as she jerked a thumb at Magnus. "He gets to fuck half the downworlders and you're mad because I see one?"

"You have a responsibility to the Clave!" He shouted at her.

"What do you care? You're not even a shadowhunter!"

"I care because you're throwing your life away!" He told her. "There are dangers on the horizon that you need to stay ahead of."

"What kind of dangers?" Magnus cut in, trying to lead the conversation from the fight that was erupting. Constantine looked to him, eyes going dark and troubled.

"Adelaide is back," He told him seriously, sobering the three of them instantly.

"I watched her die," Magnus said evenly, but his head was spinning. Her name being said aloud, the possibility that she had come back, it brought him back to Alec instantly. Of the things they went through because of this woman. Of how not long after she died, he lost Alec forever. He looked to Isabelle who had gone pale, and knew she was thinking the same.

"It's impossible," She whispered.

"I have connections that run to the very core of Paris's underworld," Constantine said gently. "I spent hundreds of years there. I know creatures that even the Clave doesn't know exist. A friend of mine came calling today saying they saw the Enchantress in a nightclub. They gave a perfect description of her, right down to the violet hair."

"It could have been a different warlock," Magnus said, knowing it went against reason.

"It wasn't a warlock," Constantine told him.

"Then what was it?" Isabelle wanted to know.

"She was luring a victim. I'm going to go ahead and guess that she is a vampire," He told them, which was all the information either of them needed. If Adelaide had been transformed into a vampire, then that means she hadn't spent the last two years lying in her cursed grave. It all tied in to the man that was supposed to have killed her. The one Magnus had watched rip out her throat.

"Julian," Magnus growled. "That bastard I knew we shouldn't have trusted him!"

"That can't be," Isabelle said in a daze, though the pieces were coming together in her mind just as they were in Magnus's.

"He played us all the fools," Constantine said. "I believe he came to New York all that time ago not to hunt Adelaide, but as her backup plan. I think she may have invited him here because she knew Magnus might deny her sanctuary. After her hellhound killed Callista Starwell she knew she was in too deep, and that now the Clave would hunt her. What better way to go into hiding than to change your very identity? She faked her death, killed herself, and was reborn a child of night."

"Then Julian is her sire," Isabelle said breathlessly. "I'm such an idiot! That's why he went back to Paris! Not to help Alec but to take care of his new fledgling! He probably just watched Alec die and did nothing, bringing me that stupid ring so I would trust him. Why would he do that?" She asked, in tears by the end.

"Because he means to take you as a mate," Magnus said. "He set his sights on you the day he met you."

"I think you're right," Constantine told them both. "There is another possibility in all this that you should think on as well. Julian has been lying since day one, about everything. He could very well be lying about the way that Alec died, or if he did at all."

"Alec could still be alive," Magnus concluded, not able to fully grip the idea.

"He could be, or he could be something very different. You might not like the creature you find. The rumor was the purple haired siren had been working the clubs for a long time. Sometimes with a black haired man with a pale scarred body and blue eyes. It could be him. There is only one way to know and that all depends on you Isabelle," Constantine told her.

"Why me?" She asked, still crying silently.

"Julian trusts you correct? If we are to learn the truth you need to get close to him, closer than you are now. You need to make him believe that you are completely his," He said to her.

"If Alec could still be out there, I will do whatever it takes," She vowed.

"Don't get your hopes up Isabelle," He said to her sincerely, laying a hand on her shoulder. "This will be a dark path, and we might come into nothing but danger and pain when we walk it. It could all be for nothing, Alec could truly already be gone."

"But there is a chance he might still be out there right? Even if it's a small one I have to take it," She told him earnestly.

"Just be prepared Isabelle, I don't desire to see you hurt in all this. When Jace and Clary come home tomorrow we must tell them this straight away and form our plans. We all need to be ready," Constantine said to her.

* * *

"I'm getting sleepy," Adelaide purred from the blood soaked bed. They were deep underground, away from all natural light. The chamber was stone and cold, covered with blood stains and gore. It was their feeding ground.

"Then go to sleep," He said to her.

"Won't you come lay with me Alexander? Let me put you at your ease," She articulated in her musical voice. He looked over a shoulder at her, but didn't turn and go to her.

"You can't please me that way Addy," He told her sternly.

"How would you know if you never let me try?" She pouted, her pale bareness glowing in the flickering flame from the chandelier.

"If it were possible I would have ravaged you ages ago," He teased her.

"You are positively evil," She told him. He made his way over to her eventually, lying next to her in the cold blood from their takings this night. He let her snuggle up next to him, though it brought him no pleasure. He knew it was hard for her to be alone, especially with a man that couldn't be attracted to her. She was the type of woman who was used to being worshipped. He cared for her like she was his sister, and she had been kind to him in the beginning, when the hunger completely controlled him. She had hunted with him and for him, making his transition easy. In return he offered her whatever small comforts he could. They had been down here for nearly two years, waiting for their sire to return.

"How much longer must we wait?" He asked her. He had asked her countless times before.

"We have many more years to wait Alexander, you know it isn't safe for you out there," She told him again. She had also told him that many times.

"These people that are hunting me won't find me here," He surmised. "How often do we go out hunting and I return safe and sound? This place is like a prison."

"I keep you safe from them," She told him. "If we did whatever we pleased out in the naked night they would find you in days and destroy you. You know this Alexander," She told him seriously. "You are the first of your kind, they will not understand you, and what the Clave doesn't understand it destroys. Or worse, some warlock will get ahold of you and dissect you to know the secrets of your creation. We don't want that either."

He shuddered at the thought of that. As much as he hated the life of the sanctuary, he hated the thought of never being able to truly live. He knew Adelaide was right, that he wouldn't survive in the real world, but he yearned for it so. To explore and be free and hunt wherever he wanted. His primal instincts were hard to keep in check, and he felt like a caged animal at times. His bloodlust could get so strong that he would even attack Adelaide, though he knew it wouldn't quench him.

"I want to go out in the day tomorrow," He told her. She sat up in bed, her nails digging into his side, though he no longer truly felt pain.

"It is forbidden," She reminded him. "You are only allowed to go if I accompany you, and I cannot follow you into the sunlight."

"I will be safe," He tried to tell her.

"Absolutely not, I will call sire if you even think on it," She said angrily. Alexander shot out of bed and shoved her away from him.

"Good, call Julian! Tell him I cannot live like this anymore!" He snapped.

"You're not alive!" She shrieked at him. "You cannot leave until we understand your condition."

"My condition is death, you just said it yourself! My mind is tearing itself apart, trying to remember what this body's life was like before I woke, before I was a monster!" He shouted at her.

"And what do you remember?" She asked, trying to calm herself.

"Nothing! I always remember nothing," He growled. "But my body won't stop trying, trying to recall something I know is important! Julian can't help me anymore, he will never understand me."

"You need to let it go," She begged him. "You will never find happiness if you live in the past."

"I want you to take me to Zane," He told her quietly. Now she rose from the bed too, coming over to him. "He made my existence possible right? Maybe he could ease my mind."

"Alexander no," She said sweetly, reaching up and cupping his face between her hands. "Do you love me brother? Have I not kept you happy?"

"You know I do," He said to her, trying not to meet her eyes.

"Then you have to trust me. Zane will lead to no happiness, there is a plan for you sweet boy and it will be grand and wonderful," She promised him. She ran her hands down his neck and torso, lingering over the scars that were littering his body. The bid ugly ones from where limbs had been torn from him, and the small faded ones from where his runes had once been. Adelaide remembered all, remembered when he had been a man. Now he was something more, something unique, and all her vengeance would be wrought through him.

* * *

**So if you haven't read the prequel to this I'm sorry for how confusing this chapter could have been for you! Also I was obviously hinting at the fact that Alec isn't strictly a vampire, he's a kind of hybrid thing now that will be explained in future chapters! Leave me a review to replenish my life forces! **


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